“Trouble” by Never Shout Never

If you’re a dude, and you play this song for some lovely lady you fancy after, you might just have a chance. The good thing about this song is that it’s pretty easy to play. The only thing is that it might be pretty hard to sing. Nonetheless, here are the ukulele chords for “Trouble” by Never Shout Never (scroll down to see the chords).

Chords Used in “Trouble”

This song only uses three chords: Bb, Eb, and F. Here’s how you play them. Be sure to check out our ukulele chord library for more variations on these chords.

Bb major

Eb major

F major

“Trouble” video

The following video is an audio file of “Trouble” so you can play along with it. Because there isn’t a whole lot of instrumentation in the recording, it should be pretty easy to hear what the ukulele is doing.

- Bb Bb
I've been playing to much guitar - Bb Bb
I've been listening to jazz - Eb Eb
I called so many times - Eb Eb
I swear she's going mad - Bb Bb Bb Bb
And that cellular will be the death of us - Eb F
I swear, I swear

- Bb Bb
I'm in trouble, I'm so cliche- Bb Bb
See that word just wears me out- Eb Eb
Makes me feel like just another boy- Eb Eb
To laugh and joke about- Bb Bb
But even worse I can't stop calling her- Bb Bb
I love to hear that voice- Eb F
And honestly, I'm left with no choice

- Bb Bb
I've been playing to much guitar- Bb Bb
I've been listening to jazz- Eb Eb
I called so many times- Eb Eb
I swear she's going mad- Bb Bb Bb Bb
And that cellular will be the death of us- Eb F
I swear, I swear

- Bb
And oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohEb
Oooh oooh oooh- Bb
I'm running my mouth just like I got her- Eb F
But I surely don't- Bb
Because shes so-o-o-o-o-o-oEb
Rock and roll- Bb
And out of my league- Eb
Is she out of my league?- F
Let's hope not

- Bb
And oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oooh oooh oooh ooh ooh oooh oh

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59 Comments

Seth

I think that this will be the first song I learn after the two in the book you made!

I use a combination of the nail-side of my middle and ring finger for my down strums and the nail-side of my thumb for up strums. Speed will come with time. First, focus on being consistent and steady at a slow tempo, and then gradually work up from there.

I don’t have a six string ukulele, but I believe you use the same chord positions as a four string. Do you have a six string ukulele where the C and A string is doubled? If so, you should be able to use the same finger positions as a four string.

As you’ve probably already figured out, the verses just use down strums. When he gets to the chorus, he starts into this strumming pattern:

down, down up, up, down up

The song is counted in four. For the first beat of the strumming pattern, there is just a down strum. Then, for the second beat, there is another down strum, and then an up strum on the “and” of the second beat. Then, there is an up strum on the “and” of the third beat. On the fourth beat, there is a down and an up strum.

If this talk about counting is confusing, you might take a look at one of my video lessons on strumming where I talk and give some examples about how strumming patterns are structured around counting:

Hi Brett,
You’ve helped me so much this past month! I’ve had this ukulele ssitting in my room for almost a year and I finally decided to pick it up and start playing. I thought it would be really hard to learn but you have made things so easy for me. And by the way, I love this song so thanks for posting it! I’m only 13 and now I can play almost any song! Thanks so much!!!

Hey Brett. I just got my ukulele about 3 days ago, and I already know this song, a couple more by them, and alot more songs. I thought it would be really hard for me, but it was REALLY easy. c: Thank you for making it so much easier! :DD

Hey Alaina, I use my index finger to barre the bottom two strings on the 1st fret. Then, I place my middle finger on the 2nd fret of the second to top string. Finally, I place my ring finger on the 3rd fret of the top string.

Ukuleles are generally tuned to standard tuning (gCEA). Have you tried tuning your ukulele? It might just not be fully in tune. If it isn’t, it can sound weird when you play different chords. You can use my tuner tool if you’d like:

hey Brett!
can you give me some pointers on singing and playing at the same time because, not only with this song but with other songs to, i cant seem to keep my rhythm(plus i know your really good at it!) =DDDD thx!

I’ve had this ukulele for almost 2 years now and I never really got into it, but only because I feel like I’ll never learn. It’s a Kala Tenor if that makes a difference. It never sounds right no matter how many times I try to tune it. I’m also having trouble keeping the flow of the strumming pattern and switching chords (which might be the hardest part for me). I’m about to just give up and sell it, even though i’d really love to learn to play it. I just feel like it’s never gonna happen. /:

A couple questions for you… have you tried tuning your ukulele with an electronic chromatic tuner? This will give you the most accurate tuning and allow you to dial it in. You also might try changing the strings on it. They could be crappy strings which can make the ukulele go in and out of tune.

Switching chords and strumming is one of the most difficult parts of playing ukulele. If you haven’t already, I recommend downloading my free ukulele lesson book. You can get it here:

Hey Joe, the strumming pattern he is using through that muted chorus is: down, down up, up, down up. While he sings the “ohs”, he is muting the strings and playing this strumming pattern. After the “ohs” he starts playing the chords and continues to play this strumming pattern.

Hey Kyle, you aren’t the first to ask about the Bb major chord. It’s a tough one. There are a couple ways you can approach practicing this chord.

The biggest challenge to the chord is probably barring the bottom two strings on the 1st fret. As you’re practicing this chord, practice barring the bottom two strings with your index finger first. Don’t even worry about the top two. Pluck the bottom two strings to try to get those to ring out nice and clearly. You’ll want to position your thumb so that the ball of it is applying a good amount of pressure right into the neck of the ukulele.

Start there and then move to placing your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the second to top string. Again, don’t worry about the top string. Focus on plucking those three strings and getting the strings to ring out clearly. Then, move to placing your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the top string.

The second way to approach playing this chord is rather than barring just the bottom two strings, try barring the entire 1st fret with your index finger. This means you barre all the strings and then place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the second to top string, and your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the top string.

I’ve heard from folks with larger hands and fingers that the second position works really well.

Ok I don’t own a ukulele yet but I have this app called Miso Music and I can play a virtual ukulele on it but I’m not sure how to play a Bb on it or an Eb. It has four strings and it’s lets me play as low ad 7 help I’m a newbie.

For Eb major, I like to place my index finger on the 1st fret of the bottom string. Then, I like to place my pinky on the 3rd fret of the second to bottom string. Lastly, I place my ring finger on the 3rd fret of the second to top string.

Hey Brett,
I just got my uke yesterday and today I got my cast off so I’m a bit stiff. I have been doing a lot of research on this song and Happy also by nevershoutnever but I keep on running into a thing called “Tabs” I am terribly confused on what it is or how to interpret it. Please help…. Thank you

I want to play this song SO bad as Christofer Drew has been my idol since basically the start of his music career. BUUUUTTTTTT, what happens if my hands aren’t big enough to reach all the strings in the chords?! I’m 18 and a girl so I’m done growing and obviously ridiculously small, lol, and I don’t really know what do to about this. Is there a trick I’m missing or something?

About

Brett McQueen is the founder of Ukulele Tricks and author of the internationally-published book Ukulele Exercises For Dummies. He teaches thousands of people from around the world to play ukulele in a non-intimidating, easy-to-follow style. Read more.